Happy (Single)
Happy ''was the second single for the album ''Puberty 2, released on the 3rd of May 2016 through the label Dead Oceans. It did not have any artwork specific to it as a single, but its music video draws heavily from a dark 1950s aesthetic and is strongly stylised. Happy opens with a looped kick drum sample- Mitski's aim was something "incessant and obsessive" which also evoked the train imagery used in the song.https://www.npr.org/2016/06/19/482375750/mitski-on-puberty-2-and-the-nature-of-happiness Exploring the obsessive side to seeking happiness in an interview with NPR, Mitski said: "I'm obsessed with trying to not only be happy but maintain happiness, but my definition of happiness is skewed more towards ecstasy rather than contentment. Ecstasy can't last forever, so there's the inevitable comedown from that. ... I can use many different things to try to chase that feeling, but the most unhealthy thing is the chasing itself. I think in the song, I touch on the fact that chasing it and then coming down from it and then chasing it again is the most exhausting process. When I was writing this song, I just wanted none of it. I didn't want the happiness and I didn't want the sadness that comes after it. That's kind of what the song is about: not wanting to go up or down anymore."https://www.npr.org/2016/06/19/482375750/mitski-on-puberty-2-and-the-nature-of-happiness The song also featured saxophone played by Patrick Hyland- Mitski had not featured horns in a song since earlier album Retired from Sad, New Career in Business. Music Video The music video was directed by Maegan Houang, starring Lisa Maley, Andrew Chlon, Kirra Moon, and Elizabeth Leibowitz. It was released 20 days after the single dropped, on the 23rd of May 2016. Full credits are available in its description on Youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ0O2vDT0VE It takes place in a heavily stylised, 1950s inspired setting- the main protagonist is the wife of a man who appears to be cheating on her. He is shown to be inconsiderate towards her and leaves her gifts addressed to his mistresses. In a climactic plot twist, the man is revealed to murder the women he has affairs with and butcher them in his basement. When his wife discovers this, he attempts to murder her in order to keep his secret, but the wife manages to fight him off and eventually kills him in order to escape. The video ends with the wife driving away into the night. The video could be analysed as having commentary on racial and gender dynamics in the world of Hollywood that it takes some of its glamourised aesthetic from- the man gives his Asian wife a handbag embroidered with the message "For my blue eyed cookie", and his mistresses (and eventual victims) are all shown to be blonde white women while he keeps his Asian wife in confidence that she will remain subservient to him (an misjudgement that ultimately allows the protagonist to survive and escape). It also relates tangentially to the surface narrative of the song wherein the speaker loses the source of stability in their life; a man who treats them badly. References Category:Singles Category:Music Videos